Yesterday, I read with interest Director Dabney's letter to the editor and his not so veiled insinuation of racism with regards to taxpayer concerns on his contract. It is easy for Dabney to play the "race card" with the expectation that people will run from a discussion; however, in this case, I think the facts speak for themselves.

The concern on the Dabney contract is no different than the concern I expressed when the mayor proposed a $90,000 contract for Steve Lipski to run an autonomous agency or the proposal of Police Chief Comey assuming multiple jobs -- both Caucasian directors and both met with stiff opposition. It wasn't racist then and it isn't racist now. Beyond that simple explanation, I am not going to dignify a racism accusation with a detailed response as those types of unfounded accusations is at the heart of what is wrong in today's political environment.

The facts here are clear. The JCIA has $7 million in unpaid bills that triggered a tax hike for all Jersey City residents this year; the JCIA is laying off and furloughing low level employees; the commissioners of the JCIA were not permitted to see the Dabney contract before voting on it; Dabney had two years left on his existing contract; Dabney gave himself a pay raise; and finally, consolidation, which the mayor and Dabney opposed, would have increased transparency and decreased costs to the taxpayer.

This week the council asked for a review of all seven agencies including the JCIA. It is not racism when council members look out for the taxpayer. We call it good government. The reality is that the JCIA should be trying to rehire those who were laid off, not fatten the pockets of the highest paid employees.

In the end, I am confident that JCIA laborers and taxpayers will see through Dabney's political nonsense. This is not racism, a more fitting name for what is happening at the JCIA leadership would be patronage and economic selfishness.